Bianco - The White Simplicity

Corfu’s cuisine still bears the quiet mark of its Venetian past - centuries of coexistence that blended local frugality with Mediterranean finesse. Dishes like Bianco emerged from that encounter: born of poverty, elevated by technique. In Italian, bianco means “white,” and the name itself reflects a Venetian approach to cooking fish without tomato - a preference for clarity, for sauces built on olive oil, lemon, and garlic rather than color and heaviness.

At its heart, Bianco is a humble composition: fish, potatoes, garlic, lemon, and good olive oil. Yet simplicity can be demanding. Each element must find its balance - the potatoes melting just enough to thicken the sauce, the garlic present but never harsh, the lemon sharp but kind. And above all, the olive oil: it binds everything, softening edges, turning the liquid into a pale, velvety emulsion that is neither broth nor stew but something perfectly in between.

In Corfu’s inland villages, where access to fresh fish was limited, families often turned to salted cod - a habit inherited from times when preservation was an art of survival. Corfiots grew skilled in salting both meat and fish, transforming necessity into flavor.

My mother knew this dish the way one knows an old song - by rhythm, not by recipe. She mastered the small things that matter: the patient stirring, the precise moment when the potatoes surrender their starch, the slow blending of lemon and olive oil until the sauce gleamed like ivory. She didn’t speak of Venetian techniques, yet she practiced them naturally - poaching gently, never boiling, letting the olive oil carry the heat instead of water.

Today, thanks to a few inspired Corfiot chefs, Bianco has returned to restaurant tables, refined and rediscovered. But for me, it remains what it always was - the quiet perfection of humble food, and the taste of my mother’s hands knowing exactly when to stop stirring.

Salted Cod Bianco

Ingredients:

1 kg salted cod, desalted and cut into portions, 3 medium potatoes cut into wedges, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped.

Juice of 1–1½ lemons, 70 ml extra virgin olive oil (50 for cooking + 20 raw at the end).

A handful of chopped parsley, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method:

Soak the cod for 24–36 hours, changing the water several times.

Heat half the olive oil in a wide pot. Add the potatoes and sauté gently until they start to turn translucent. Add water - just enough to half-cover them - and cook slowly with the garlic and a pinch of salt until they begin to soften.

When the potatoes yield slightly to the knife, add the fish and lemon juice. Continue cooking over low heat, uncovered, until the sauce thickens and the potatoes release their starch. Sprinkle with parsley and pepper, and drizzle with the remaining raw olive oil before serving.

My mother’s secret

The sauce must cling to the potatoes - neither soupy nor dry. It’s the slow emulsification of olive oil, lemon, and starch that makes a true Bianco. Don’t rush it, and never let it boil.

It may have Venetian roots, but for me, Bianco will always taste of home - one of those quiet, motherly dishes that need no celebration, only a little bread to wipe the plate clean.

Other fish you can use instead of salted cod

Fresh cod, haddock, grouper, sea bream, red mullet, sole, perch, John Dory, dogfish (galeus), sea bass, or scorpionfish. Choose firm white fish that hold their shape and gently absorb the lemon and olive oil sauce - they’ll all give a beautiful, honest Bianco.